DAVENPORT & Co LLC Trims Stock Position in Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS)

DAVENPORT & Co LLC cut its stake in shares of Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS - Free Report) by 29.7% in the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 43,658 shares of the company's stock after selling 18,420 shares during the period. DAVENPORT & Co LLC's holdings in Zoetis were worth $7,186,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in Zoetis by 0.3% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 41,366,877 shares of the company's stock worth $6,739,905,000 after acquiring an additional 120,158 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of Zoetis by 1.8% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 10,617,897 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,726,075,000 after buying an additional 190,137 shares during the last quarter. Polen Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of Zoetis by 17.5% in the fourth quarter. Polen Capital Management LLC now owns 7,483,194 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,219,237,000 after buying an additional 1,116,541 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its position in shares of Zoetis by 78.5% in the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 6,958,543 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,133,755,000 after buying an additional 3,059,255 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Northern Trust Corp raised its position in shares of Zoetis by 13.3% in the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 6,426,394 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,047,052,000 after buying an additional 755,893 shares during the last quarter. 92.80% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Zoetis Trading Up 0.1%

Zoetis stock traded up $0.11 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $159.19. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,375,164 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,572,771. The firm has a market capitalization of $70.87 billion, a PE ratio of 28.58, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.64 and a beta of 0.91. Zoetis Inc. has a 1 year low of $139.70 and a 1 year high of $200.33. The company has a current ratio of 1.74, a quick ratio of 1.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.12. The stock's fifty day moving average is $161.16 and its two-hundred day moving average is $162.09.

Zoetis (NYSE:ZTS - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, May 6th. The company reported $1.48 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.40 by $0.08. Zoetis had a return on equity of 55.48% and a net margin of 27.12%. The company had revenue of $2.22 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.20 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.38 earnings per share. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 1.4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts anticipate that Zoetis Inc. will post 6.07 EPS for the current year.

Zoetis Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 3rd. Stockholders of record on Friday, July 18th will be paid a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.26%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, July 18th. Zoetis's payout ratio is 35.91%.

Insider Activity at Zoetis

In other news, EVP Roxanne Lagano sold 652 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $170.00, for a total value of $110,840.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 15,129 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,571,930. This trade represents a 4.13% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.16% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on ZTS shares. UBS Group reduced their target price on shares of Zoetis from $189.00 to $170.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, May 7th. Stifel Nicolaus cut shares of Zoetis from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and reduced their target price for the company from $165.00 to $160.00 in a research report on Wednesday, June 18th. Finally, Piper Sandler increased their target price on shares of Zoetis from $205.00 to $210.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Monday, May 12th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Zoetis has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $212.13.

Zoetis Profile

Zoetis Inc engages in the discovery, development, manufacture, and commercialization of animal health medicines, vaccines, and diagnostic products and services in the United States and internationally. The company commercializes products primarily across species, including livestock, such as cattle, swine, poultry, fish, and sheep and others; and companion animals comprising dogs, cats, and horses.